Priorities
by Karama9
Summary: Snake Eyes & Scarlett fluff, insofar as violence and stabbing people can be called fluff. Nothing is more important to Snake Eyes and Scarlett than each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

I played with the idea a few times of re-writing parts of Arashikage to show Snake Eyes' point of view. Ultimately, I decided not to because the Soft Master explains a lot of it when he tries to bring Storm Shadow back to his senses.

This, however, he didn't touch on. Partly because some of it hadn't happened yet, partly because Snake Eyes isn't the kind to share these kind of things.

I'm writing this as a challenge to myself; I don't do romance much, so considering this little plot bunny seems willing enough, I figured I should give it a go for practice.

Thank you for reading, and please review. I'm a feedback addict.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Prevention<strong>

Scarlett let out a grunt when she slammed into the wall of the dojo, courtesy of Snake Eyes throwing her into it. He had adjusted his throw so that she'd hit with her back first rather than her head, but he hadn't held back otherwise and the impact hurt.

She got back up and signalled for a time out. She needed to catch her breath, and she wanted to know what was going on in her lover's head lately; he'd gotten almost dangerous in their training sessions. She had a theory, but since it boiled down to her boyfriend thinking she was incompetent, she preferred to think there was another explanation.

She just barely blocked the ninja's next kick, aimed at the side of her head. She cursed but had no time to formulate a proper protest, as Snake Eyes kept coming at her, continuing the spar exactly as if she hadn't called for a break. She desperately blocked and dodged for several minutes, unable to find the smallest hole in his defence, and eventually found herself face down on the floor, both her arms extended painfully backwards and Snake Eyes' foot pressing down on her kidneys. She was released faster than she could surrender.

She rolled and sat in the lotus position, scowling at her opponent. "Did you forget what a time out is?" she asked. "What's gotten into you lately?"

The ninja motioned for her to get back up, but she crossed her arms and refused to budge. "Not until you tell me what's going on. It's not that I don't want to get better, but this is getting ridiculous! Out of everyone on the team, I'm the one who needs the least training from you, but I'm the one who's black and blue all the time! I'm starting to think you figure I can't look after myself."

Snake Eyes visibly tensed and signed in jerky movements that clearly conveyed how angry he was that indeed she couldn't.

The red head's face went from annoyed to murderous fury in half a second flat. "EXCUSE ME?"

Snake Eyes shook his head and started signing again, this time a bit more calmly in an attempt to defuse his girlfriend. He started by explaining that the ninja they had fought at Destro's castle was known to him and extremely dangerous.

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Yes, I kind of gathered that you knew each other; he made it sort of obvious. I'm pretty sure I even mentioned that to you on our way out of there."

Snake Eyes impatiently signed again that the Cobra ninja was extremely dangerous and went on to say that the man likely wanted to kill him and preferably hurt him as well.

"He's got a grudge against you? Why? What does he think you did?"

Snake Eyes sighed but, realizing Scarlett would not cooperate without an explanation, sat across from her and told her how her kidnapper had been his best friend, had welcomed him into his family, and then had been driven to murder by jealousy. He explained that he had hoped for years that Tommy was innocent despite all the evidence against him, but that his working for Cobra confirmed that his former sword brother had indeed changed that much; that he had in fact turned into a cold blooded murderer.

Scarlett frowned when her boyfriend stopped signing.

"Snake Eyes, you could probably fool most people into thinking that's all there is to this story just by telling half of it like that, but that's not going to work on your old pal Scarlett."

He stiffened. She sagged.

"You don't have to tell me the rest," she said with some difficulty, "but I hope you know it's not your fault he went bad like that. There are rotten apples in the World, and you know what? They start out as fresh apples just like anybody else. They just turn at some point, and even when they blame everyone else around, it's almost always their own fault."

The ninja shook his head. He just sat there for a few minutes, and Scarlett waited. Finally, he started signing again. This time, he spoke at length of being shot and carried back to safety in the middle of a storm of enemy fire; he told her in details how the Young Master had watched him get better than him at almost everything without being able to devote enough time to training to catch back up because he was the clan's main source of income and had to work long hours; he told her about the man hunt launched by the Soft Master to capture or kill Tommy following his murdering the Hard Master, and then he stopped again.

Scarlett's eyes widened. She could read her lover like a book, and the tension in every line of his body right now, along with the way his signing had become slightly less fluid as he went through his story, told her the end of that story as well as any word or sign could.

"You found him," she said, "but you couldn't believe he had done it, and you felt you owed him for saving your life in the war, so you let him get away."

He nodded curtly and got back up, gesturing her to do the same.

She swallowed. She wanted to say something, but what more was there to say? She could tell him he couldn't have known his sword brother would go on to join a terrorist organization responsible for hundreds of deaths; she could tell him that he had acted honourably at the time, using his best judgement with the information he had available to him; she could tell him that not being a fortune teller didn't make him a bad person… she could tell him a lot of things, but what would the point have been? He already knew all the standard platitudes. They wouldn't change anything to the situation.

And the situation was that right or wrong, Snake Eyes thought the Cobra ninja would target him, possibly through her, and that at her current skill level, she'd be easy picking. And just to top off these worries with a dose of guilt, her lover had to live with the knowledge that he could have eliminated the threat years ago and had just _chosen_ not to.

She knew better than to think she could talk him out of feeling responsible for their enemy's existence, but if she couldn't help him deal with regretting the mercy he had shown his once best friend, she could at the very least alleviate his worries.

"Okay, buddy," she said, getting up and into a fighting stance again. "Let's do this."

It was the last time they talked about the reason for the intense training; there was no need to discuss it anymore, so why waste the energy? If Snake Eyes had taught her anything, it was that action spoke louder than words. So, instead of arguing, she went along with it and worked harder than she ever had, knowing that every lesson he taught her was aimed at making sure that if she ever ran into her kidnapper again, she'd walk away – even if her lover's former friend and brother didn't.

She did try to approach the subject again outside of their lessons, however. She tried the platitudes, even though she knew she'd never chase his regrets, because at least it was a way to show him _she_ didn't blame him.


	2. Chapter 2: Truly Agree to Disagree

**Author's Notes: **

Just a quick reminder that this is set in my AU, where Storm Shadow was guarded while in Alcatraz, and knocked his guard out before picking the lock to escape.

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Truly Agree to Disagree<strong>

Scarlett paused a moment outside the door to Snake Eye's quarters, her fist raised, ready to knock.

The ninja had arrived back to the Pit from Alcatraz an hour earlier, and had stiffened right up upon seeing her - and not in what she would have considered a good way. He had then vanished.

Scarlett knew her man: some people needed a bit of time alone when they were going through difficult times, some time to sort things out in their heads. Snake Eyes, on the other hand, only thought he did: each time he decided he wanted some time alone, it turned into an attempt at forgetting his worries rather than facing them. This was a man who had lived as a hermit for years when his best friend had lost his head and turned into a murderer, and who still occasionally liked to spend time in a sensory deprivation tank to keep reality at bay. Snake Eyes was an exceptionally good and brave man, but he was no good at all at coming out of a funk on his own; he could snap out of it in half a second flat if someone hinted that they needed him, but if nobody did? He'd just deal with pain by shoving it aside and pretending it wasn't there, no matter how hard he had to work to achieve that.

She was pretty sure that's what he was doing now. Storm Shadow had survived in Switzerland and escaped Alcatraz despite his best effort, and was therefore still a threat. Snake Eyes felt responsible for the man's continued existence, so this had to be extremely frustrating. She honestly felt that it was better for her lover to have some company, whether he realized it himself or not.

She just wasn't sure she was the right company right now; Snake Eyes felt Storm Shadow might eventually target her to get at him, and that worry made his guilt over not doing away with the Cobra assassin when he had the chance even worse. It had spurred him into stepping up her training to a level most people would qualify of insane and which entirely consumed every minute they could spend together. Given that, it was possible that seeing her right now was the last thing he needed.

She frowned at herself and knocked. When in doubt…

The door opened. She stepped in and turned to face Snake Eyes, who was hiding behind the door and closed it after her.

"You're done sulking, Snake Eyes," she announced, crossing her arms. "Fact is it's not your fault he escaped, in Switzerland OR Alcatraz, so I won't have you feel guilty over it."

Snake Eyes shook his head and signed he hadn't been sulking but thinking. After a second, he started to sign again but stopped immediately. He looked at her, hands in the air, obviously uncertain of whether or not he should tell her what he was thinking.

She cocked her head and went to sit on the bed. He followed, turned his desk chair to face the bed and therefore herself, and sat on it.

"Spill," she said the second he was settled, her arms once again crossed and her face set.

He sighed and signed that the guard assigned to Storm Shadow's cell had been lured to that cell's window, then made to turn around to look down the hall, and knocked out by a balled up spring to the sleeping point below his ear. He then stopped.

She cocked her head again. She knew those details, she had read them already in the report on Cobra's ninja's escape.

Snake Eyes started signing again, his movements just a bit shorter and quicker due to his agitation, and explained that once the guard was in front of the door looking into the window, it would have been quicker to kill him using the same balled up spring but hitting the front of his throat with it, or even between his eyes.

Scarlett's eyes widened. "You're saying Storm Shadow could have just easily killed him but chose not to. You don't really think that means anything, do you?"

Snake Eyes shook his head and signed that killing the guard would not have been just as easy, it would have been easier and quicker. Storm Shadow had wasted time to spare the guard's life.

The red head's eyes widened further. That certainly was unexpected from a Cobra agent, but just the same... "Murderers spare people all the time, Snake Eyes. It doesn't help the people they DIDN'T spare."

Snake Eyes nodded, acknowledging the point. Then he signed that ninjas were trained for speed and efficiency.

Scarlett could see where this was going, and had no interest in beating around the bush. "You think this shows your old friend is actually still a decent person? Even though you know he works for Cobra, and killed his own uncle because he was jealous of you?" She couldn't quite keep the anger out of her voice.

Snake Eyes shook his head and signed he didn't know Tommy had killed his uncle. He had assumed it when he'd seen him in Cobra, but didn't actually know.

Scarlett chewed on her lip for a moment, using every bit of mental discipline she had to think constructively rather than get angry at the mere thought of giving the benefit of the doubt to the Cobra Commander's bodyguard. Snake Eyes started signing again while she thought, this time saying Tommy hadn't been attacking back in Switzerland, only defending himself while Snake Eyes was trying to kill him.

Her eyes narrowed. "He's Tommy again, now, is he?" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Getting angry was not helping. This was too important to Snake Eyes for her to just dismiss his concerns. She opened her eyes again. "Just so we're clear... you think he's not bad. So, I assume you figure he's being forced to work for Cobra somehow. Correct?"

Snake Eyes nodded.

"Any idea how?"

The ninja shook his head and signed that if Tommy hadn't changed after all, he couldn't think of what would make him work for the likes of Cobra.

Scarlett sighed and mulled it over for a moment, looking at the floor rather than at her lover. Snake Eyes waited patiently.

"Okay, here's what I think," she finally said. "Maybe you're right, but maybe you're wrong. The way I see it, it's possible he just spared that guard to play mind games with us, or he had a reason we don't know about. Or the guard looked to the side because he heard something down the hall. It's also possible that Storm Shadow did spare him because he's not a complete monster, but that he's still not the person you used to know and he's still generally evil, and that he's working for Cobra of his own free will. But, it's also possible that it's just like you think: he's still good, and he's being forced to work for Cobra against his will, and he didn't try to kill you back in Switzerland, and he went out of his way, took a risk, not to kill his guard."

She paused for breath. Snake Eyes cocked his head, waiting for Scarlett's conclusion.

"If I had to guess, I'd say you're dead wrong and he's pure Cobra," she started back. "But I'm not going to pretend it's much more than a gut feeling. So…"

She looked up and locked eyes with him. "Your call," she declared. "What do we do to find out for sure?"

Snake Eyes' eyes widened and he had to fight down the urge to tackle her and kiss her.

He had expected a long argument ending with her agreeing not to stop him investigating strictly for the sake of his peace of mind. He had known there would be no convincing Scarlett that Tommy was anything more than a Cobra agent. What he hadn't guessed, what he would never have dared hope, was that despite disagreeing with his conclusions, despite being quite convinced he was utterly delusional, she'd go right ahead and help him figure out what was going on, as if there was any real doubt in her mind, because HIS doubts were enough.

It took him about a quarter of a second to decide not to fight the urge to tackle her after all.

It was a while before either of them even thought of Storm Shadow again.


End file.
